Yuhwa Eva Lu

Chinese Americans were the first group of immigrants from Asia who came to the United States in the mid-19th century. A second wave of immigrants came following the Immigrant Act of 1965. ...
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Chinese Americans were the first group of immigrants from Asia who came to the United States in the mid-19th century. A second wave of immigrants came following the Immigrant Act of 1965. These new immigrants had more diverse backgrounds and introduced new patterns of lifestyle. Since 1965, the Chinese population has increased 10-fold to reaching 2.9 million in the 2000 census, becoming 1% of the total U.S. population. Chinese Americans are in a varied background and with diverse identities. Two-thirds are foreign-born and experiencing stereotype, prejudice, and acculturation adjustment.

Yoosun Park

This overview of the Japanese American community includes a brief history of the community in the United States, an overview of some distinct characteristics of the community, and a review ...
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This overview of the Japanese American community includes a brief history of the community in the United States, an overview of some distinct characteristics of the community, and a review of current literature highlighting the particular issues of the community salient to social work research and intervention.

Yoonsun Choi

This overview of the Korean immigrant community includes a brief history of immigration and a review of the distinct characteristics that have helped establish a strong and fairly ...
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This overview of the Korean immigrant community includes a brief history of immigration and a review of the distinct characteristics that have helped establish a strong and fairly successful community. It also describes a new generation of young adults who are distinct from their parents in their cultural, social, and economic adaptation. In addition, the challenges and difficulties that the community and its families may face are discussed along with implications for social work interventions.

Brij Mohan

This entry briefly profiles the dynamic fusion, fluidity, and future of South Asians in America. While Diaspora India is emblematic of immigrant culture as a whole, South Asian duality ...
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This entry briefly profiles the dynamic fusion, fluidity, and future of South Asians in America. While Diaspora India is emblematic of immigrant culture as a whole, South Asian duality still remains uniquely enigmatic. People from South Asia represent a confluence of diversity and complexity that calls for understanding and acceptance as a model to deconstruct a tolerant and successful pluralist society.

Paul DuongTran

The end of the Viet Nam war, officially concluded on April 30, 1975, created a global diaspora from the Southeast Asian region. The geographic diversity reflects equally the diversity in ...
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The end of the Viet Nam war, officially concluded on April 30, 1975, created a global diaspora from the Southeast Asian region. The geographic diversity reflects equally the diversity in language, religion, and ethnicity in the people who settled in the United States. The inherent diversity in refugee experiences and personal backgrounds has produced unequal personal and social adjustment among the three ethnic groups in their resettlement over the years. In general, Southeast Asian refugees have attained social integration as their offspring are developing an ethnic identity as members of the second- or third-generation of U.S.-born Americans.

Paula T. Morelli, Alma Trinidad, and Richard Alboroto

Filipinos are the second largest group of Asians in the United States; more than 3.4 million Filipino Americans live primarily within the largest U.S. continental cities (including Los ...
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Filipinos are the second largest group of Asians in the United States; more than 3.4 million Filipino Americans live primarily within the largest U.S. continental cities (including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York) and Hawaii. Annexation of the Philippines, following the Philippine-American War (1899–1902), granted Filipinos unrestricted immigration to the United States as “American nationals” without right to U.S. citizenship. Throughout this more than one-hundred-year relationship, Filipinos in the United States endured discrimination, race-based violence, and a series of restrictive federal legislation impacting civil rights and immigration. Filipinos may present with a distinctly Western orientation in areas such as values and contemporary ideas; however, their traditional social and cultural characteristics contrast considerably with mainstream American culture. This entry provides a brief historic, geopolitical and cultural context to facilitate the work of social work practitioners.

Steven P. Segal

Social workers are increasingly working in authoritative settings—that is, settings where they have the power to mandate conformity by the client to the normative and often legal ...
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Social workers are increasingly working in authoritative settings—that is, settings where they have the power to mandate conformity by the client to the normative and often legal requirements of the organization. Such settings may be residential, such as jails, prisons, and rehabilitation facilities, or community-based organizations that are part of the criminal justice system, the mental health system, the health system, and the child welfare system. The exercise of power derived from the authority vested in the setting’s objectives may and often does alter the total life situation of an individual, such as when a client is compelled to move to supervised care without the client’s consent. Under an outpatient civil commitment order or mental health court supervision, the patient may be told where to live and with whom to associate as well as be required to participate in interactive treatment and to take medication. In authoritative settings, social workers are working with “involuntary” clients—clients who understand, whether or not it is explicitly stated, that the social worker possesses the power to effect unwanted change in their life circumstance. Since the early 1990s, the field has been developing new ideas and skills that are equally useful in working with voluntary and involuntary clients. In the process, social worker authority is now viewed less as a way to gain client compliance and, instead, is understood more as an opportunity to build partnerships with clients that lead to changes that are enduring and more meaningful to clients.

Marcia Bayne-Smith and Annette M. Mahoney

The diverse group of people referred to as Caribbean Americans come from the Circum-Caribbean region, which includes the island nations of the Caribbean Sea and the nations of Central ...
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The diverse group of people referred to as Caribbean Americans come from the Circum-Caribbean region, which includes the island nations of the Caribbean Sea and the nations of Central America from Belize to Panama—35 nations in all. The heterogeneity of the Caribbean population is due to the colonization and geopolitical division of the region among English, Dutch, Spanish, and French colonizers, which resulted in many different cultures, ethnic groups, languages, educational systems, religious beliefs, and practices. However, the majority of the Caribbean populations share an African ancestry.

Cognitive therapy is a perspective on social work intervention with individuals, families, and groups that focuses on conscious thought processes as the primary determinants of most ...
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Cognitive therapy is a perspective on social work intervention with individuals, families, and groups that focuses on conscious thought processes as the primary determinants of most emotions and behaviors. It has great appeal to social work practitioners because of its utility in working with many types of clients and problem situations, and its evidence-based support in the literature. Cognitive therapies include sets of strategies focused on education, a restructuring of thought processes, improved coping skills, and increased problem-solving skills for clients.

Ellen Fink-Samnick

The past two decades have witnessed a surge in the growth of initiatives and funding to weave physical and behavioral health care, particularly with identification of the high costs ...
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The past two decades have witnessed a surge in the growth of initiatives and funding to weave physical and behavioral health care, particularly with identification of the high costs incurred by their comorbidity. In response, a robust body of evidence now demonstrates the effectiveness of what is referred to as collaborative care. A wide range of models transverse the developmental lifespan, diagnostic categories, plus practice settings (e.g., primary care, specialty medical care, community-based health centers, clinics, and schools). This article will discuss the foundational elements of collaborative care, including the broad sweep of associated definitions and related concepts. Contemporary models will be reviewed along with identified contextual topics for practice. Special focus will be placed on the diverse implications collaborative care poses for the health and behavioral health workforce, especially social workers.

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